Nine Tongues

Aska are somewhat of an anomaly in the respect that they did what few others dared do in the mid-1990's and play traditional Heavy Metal. Having released two fairly decent LPs with Aska already since 2000 this 1997 album has been uneathed by Pure Steel Records. Given that in 1997 only a handful of US Metal veterans remained (Chastain, Jag Panzer, Halloween as well as Warlord off-shoot Lordian Guard) does this album sit alongside as another relic of a time when only a few bastions of Metal purity remained? Opening track “The Stalker” would definitely suggest so with that rapid-fire opening riff sits somewhere between Judas Priest and Warlord, and George Call's natural range, powerful deep vocals and well-placed high screams make me see why he once sang live for Omen. It's by no means the stuff of classics, but it is solid enough especially given its time, but as soon as the song fades into the follow-up “Leprosy” the wheels well and truly fly off the cart.

On paper the bringing in of a pinch of mid-paced Hard rock stomp to flavour the album's sound like a fair enough proposition, and really on this track the Krokus vibe that is supplied is not all that bad. The lyrics however are woeful and immediately turn this album from a potential true Metal rarity to a mid 90's ill-advised cock rock turkey. Instead of provided an additional sonic instead this vibe is allowed to dominate.

“Question” makes the mistake of trying to mix the two opposing styles from the opening 2 tracks whilst “Little Sister” with it's awful Sunset Strip borderline paedophilia and “Captain Crunch” with it's GWAR vibe shorn of any real balls are the album's 2 lowest points. Where actual Heavy Metal does crop up again it is unfortunately not in the way hinted at with the opening track, but instead occupying a strain of commercial late 80's Metal that is equal parts Helloween and Queensryche with a touch of Dio here and there. When it is not being ruined by sub-Guns n Roses balladry like on “Blood Of The Wolf” it actually works pretty well, but the big soppy love number “Killashandra” that inexplicably seems to be dedicated to a woman named after a village in rural Ireland and the album topper “The Dream” comes too late to make any real difference. This album may not be the Nu Metal monstrosity that I thought it would have been when I first saw the red moodlit photo of the dreadlocked devil woman on the cover, but nevertheless Pure Steel should have left this in the mid-90's where it belongs. [3/10]

From WAR ON ALL FRONTS A.D. 2013 zine- www.facebook.com/waronallfronts

I first got acquainted with the music of Aska when I listened to “Killashandra” on a radio show. “Killashandra”, which is included in “Nine Tongues”, is actually an excellent tune: catchy and simple riffs, clever tempo changes, mesmerizing melodic parts, beautiful vocals. Everything a fan of melodic American power metal could possibly ask for. I thought that if the entire album sounded like “Killashandra”, then we would have to deal with a record of unquestionable quality. However, when I got to listen to the rest of the songs of “Nine Tongues”, I realized that this was, unfortunately, not the case.


The music of Aska could best be described as typical melodic American power metal, that owes a lot to classic groups like Judas Priest and (of course) Iron Maiden. The main advantage of this metal genre is that, when it is played well, it delivers an excellent combination between aggression and melody. On the other hand, its main disadvantage could be summarized in the notion that it sometimes tends to focus on more glam / sleaze approaches. Although there is no general prohibition against this, most bands sound somewhat childish when this “transgression” occurs. It appears that “Nine Tongues” is a manifestation of both the main advantage and the main disadvantage of melodic American power metal, simultaneously.


To begin with, the members of Aska are all rather skilful musicians, and, what is more, they seem to possess a good knowledge of each other’s style of playing. As a result, their music sounds coherent and solid in all tracks. When it comes to the songs themselves, their variety could satisfy even the most demanding power metal fan. There are examples of raw, unconditional power metal (“The Stalker”, “The Question”), tunes that sound more melodic, yet lose none of their quality (“Blood Of The Wolf, “Killashandra”, “The Dream”) and, finally, tracks that are enjoyable, even though they are more relaxed and humorous (“Leprosy”). The quality of most of these compositions ranges from pretty good to very good. In addition, Aska manage to sound rather original at times - there is a small bridge part before the refrain in “The Dream” that actually sounds like Journey playing heavy metal. Although this might sound cheesy to some, I pretty much enjoyed that little part.


Nevertheless, the main problem with “Nine Tongues” is that it is somehow inconsistent as an album. Next to the songs that are pleasant to hear, stand some tunes that are more or less a narration of the sexual adventures of their central character (“Little Sister”, “Liquid Courage”). The problem with these tracks is that their musical content is as ridiculous as the lyrics: annoyingly light, extremely commercial glam / sleaze that has nothing to offer. Moreover, there is a song that I consider to be totally pointless (“Captain Crunch”), and - to my eyes (or should I say “to my ears?”) - is nothing more than a filler. It would have been better if Aska had somehow avoided including these tracks in the album.


In conclusion, “Nine Tongues” is an album that reveals Aska’s tremendous potential. Despite of its weaknesses, it allows us to draw the conclusion that Aska are capable of delivering extremely good power metal, if they take themselves seriously and become more careful in their song writing. Fortunately for us listeners, that is exactly what happened in their next album, “Avenger”, where the signs of improvement are more than obvious.